April 2003
Despite Volvoman's thread, I don't want to drive illegally.
I have managed to source a very, very cheap Mini in London. A friend wants to restore the car in Wales. Unfortunately it has no MoT and only a week's tax, so it needs to be moved quickly, and not under its own power.
I think, on balance, I'd prefer to drive a 3.5 tonne Transit than tow a trailer, although as my car has a tow hitch, I could do either, assuming my standard car licence is valid.
So, does anyone know a company that could rent me a car transporter, whether a van or a trailer, ideally one that I could pick up in the London area. Read more
The motor on my elctric window works fine but the glass has become detatched from its mount. I asked in a Peugeot garage and was told that the regulator would need to be replaced along with the motor as they are attached. Is there an easier cheaper way of makeing repairs. Read more
Rainwater seals are the least of your problems - any piece of stout polythene cut to fit will do, provided you tuck the lower edge inside the inner door to shed the water in the right direction. I don't think door drain holes block up easily these days - at least not in my experience.
I really struggle with this. Parking was not part of the trest curriculum when I passed my test many moons ago.
I can line up with the car in front, and then start to turn the wheel anti-clockwise full lock.
I chicken out as ut looks like my bonnet may clip the rear of the front car.
So I move on to somewhere where there is a BIG gap between two cars and drive into the space FORWARDS.
Now parallel parking is supposed to be easy. Any ideas to enable me so to do?
clariman Read more
>> This is all piffle, a bloke on the tele showed
how
>> it should be done.
Ah, you must be refering to Russ Swift.
Thats the fella, If i remember he taught a granny how to do it, so come on........
On the Passat thread someone says that servicing costs for a diesel are "more expensive than for petrol" I've seen this said several times on other threads also. Now I've had a couple of diesels (well 4 actually) and they have done 170k, 140k, 90k and 65k and apart from new glowplugs on the 2 higher mileage ones, none have required any work to be done on the engines apart from new oil/filter (I do that every 5k but probably would on a petrol anyway)and cambelts every 50k. So why are they more expensive to service than a petrol? Read more
On a tangent subject to diesel servicing i work in the aviation industry, rotary wing i.e helicopters. We are reqd by set servicing schedules to submit oil samples at regular intervals for analysis and there report decides if we can keep the component in service or carry out a oil change or reject the component.
Con probably being the operative word.
The first day this year when I *really* needed the aircon, which I incidentally use all year, we have another minor explosion and then pfffffffffffffffft noise.
No cold air.
This is the third full set of aircon pipes I have had under warranty. I have no confidence in the current set lasting any longer than a few months.
My car is 01MY - anyone else having these problems? I can only think the piping must be under-spec or too weak but you\'d think if that was the case GM would be supplying better pipes by now.
Dan
Read more
It was more likely to have been more than a couple of grammes, couple was a figure the fitter came out with. There was a improvement, suggesting there was more than a couples of grammes short.
Pastyman..
Can anyone please help me?
I have a problem getting my trafic van through an MOT at the moment. I am really desperate because I need this van to move materials and tools away from my property I have nearly finished and into my garage. The previous MOT has expired.
The rear brakes and the handbrake have failed the test but the garage I used cannot find any evidence of air, leaks or anything like that. The linings are fairly new but should have been given plenty of time to bed in. There doesn\'t seem to be evidence of contamination at all. This garage is not an MOT test station but uses one a few miles away.
The load compensator near the back axle has been suggested as a possible cause by the MOT tester but has been discounted by the garage.
I seem to remember having this problem before on a previous vehicle. I changed the shoes for another pair I had but hadn\'t used and this did the trick, but these shoes are new....
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
H Read more
i'm pleased you're sorted, however I agree with the MOT station in regards to replacing the valve, because if the piston was stuck then there is a good chance that the internal rubber seal around the piston may have stuck too and when the piston was freed off the seal (washer) could have torn . This may not be immediatly apparent. For peace of mind put a new valve on and bleed the rear brakes. Thanks for letting us know the outcome, it makes all the difference.
Stone chip on motorway, but became a nine-inch crack almost immediately so will probably need a new winscreen.
Autoglass coming out tomorrow to fit one.
Insurance policy states that I pay £50 excess. Now I know that this wont affect any NCD, but when asking for insurance quotes in the future, do I have to declare this "claim"?
I am not sure how internet insurers define claims, ie do they ask for "claims excluding windscreen damage". Do I just ignore this event?
Thanks, clariman. Read more
You must declare the windscreen claim. I have had two claims in the last year, and when filling in online quote forms, ticked the "I have had a claim" box. A new window then opened and "windscreen claim" was always one of the options on the 6-8 sites I visited.
Finally took cover with NU and spoke to them on the phone about the claim. The rep said they took note of it but did not apply any added cost to the policy.
I'd hate to have a future claim turned down because I hadn't declared a windscreen to them.
As the most recent break was caused by poor road construction by Surrey County Council, I intend to claim from them. I rang round for a full quote from a couple of the big names. Neither would quote me as they said it would be "very expensive". My guess is their businesses thrive on the back pockets of the insurers. I read a story recently about one of the High Street names being involved in a major fraud scandal regarding falsified windscreen claims.
I have a 98 mondeo 1.8LX. My MOT is now due and I've just found my rear middle seat belt will not pull out. Looking at the Haynes manual it says the reel is actually within the seat and recommends leaving replacement to a main dealer.
Anyone any experience with this? Any tips on how to free a stuck seatbelt without access to the reel?
Thanks in advance,
Andy
{making use of the drop down menus that weren't around when this questions was composed} Read more
woohoo we now have a middle seat belt that works. MOT on Wednesday. Checked everything I can think off. Keeping fingers crossed, but hopefully will pass.
I have a problem with the central locking on my Omega.
Last night the locking simply stopped working. Both my keys still seem to have plenty of battery power. Also, the boot release from the key and the button on the dashboard do not work.
I have tried to resynchronise the key (a procedure explained in the owners manual) but this has not worked either.
Anyone got any ideas before I take the car to the vauxhall garage? Read more
I can lock the car ok with the key but every
time I open it and get in the alarm goes off!
Any ideas how to inhibit this? Cheers, Seiki.
I see above that you've tried resetting the key. I take it you've done this by putting the key in the ignition, turning to position 2 and then pressing the buttons on the keyfob? Confirmation that it has worked will activate the C/L.
Latest problem on my new shape Mondeo - erratic operation of the radiator cooling fan. It starts running whenever the car is started up (even after being stood overnight or for a couple of days) It then (presumably) cuts out somewhere along the journey as it is generally not running by the time I reach my destination.
Will the electric motor on this burn out if I don't get it seen to ASAP?
I am going to take it into main dealer when I get time but anybody got any ideas what the problem is (switch/thermostat?)
Thanks Read more
Marc, I have a Mk3 Mondeo too, this is normal. When you first start the car the ecu switches both cooling fans on as part of its boot up checks, they will go off after about 45 seconds if you don't have the aircon on. If you have the aircon on (e.g. on the demist setting) the fans will run all the time. Also, you don't need to put the heat up to the "screen" position to demist you can put it to the "up" arrow position, this will leave the aircon off.
.......keith
Browse
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But if the thing being towed is still a car and not a trailer, that would be OK then? Cars pulling other cars with bits of rope are OK in the outer lane? Surely not?